Her Father's Daughter
by Chrissy Calavicci
Summary: The Camden's face their first Christmas without Eric. Lucy has a surprise for Annie. My annual Christmas fic for 2006! One shot. First 7th Heave fic...be nice!


**A/N: Annual Christmas fic! Y'know, I think it might be a little cheesy, but it's also my first attempt at a 7th Heaven fic, so I really kind of like how it turned out. It's set a few years after the series and Eric has recently passed on. The Camden's are now faced with their first Christmas without him.**

**Her Father's Daughter**

Lucy Kinkirk tucked in her children and reminded them that Santa would be coming soon. Savannah smiled and Gabriel did his best to stay in bed, though he was excited about Christmas and wanted to jump up and run downstairs to wait for Santa. She turned out the light as the kids snuggled into their sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep.

In the living room, Kevin waited for her. "That took longer than usual." He smiled.

"Well," she smiled, "It's Christmas Eve, they're excited."

"Are you sure your mom is going to be okay with everyone being over tomorrow?" Kevin asked.

Lucy sighed. When Annie said that she wanted Christmas with the family, everyone said okay, but the one question that no one dared to ask was whether or not she'd really be okay. It had been less than a year since they had lost Eric and even though he lived longer than any doctor said he would, he was still gone and it still hurt. "I think she'll be fine." Lucy said, "As long as we're there for her."

"I think you're right." He nodded, "your mom is a strong woman."

_Still,_ Lucy thought, _it's our first Christmas without dad._

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Lucy shook her head, "Can you get the presents ready? I forgot something and I need to go pick it up."

"It's late." Kevin told her.

"Only eight. There are plenty of places open this time of night."

"It's Christmas Eve." He reminded her, "Can it wait?"

"It can't wait." Lucy stated, "I have to go pick it up now. Don't worry, I'll be back."

"Would you mind letting me know what you're up to?" He laughed.

"What makes you think I'm up to something?"

"You're a Camden." He said, "Camden's are always up to something."

"I'll tell you when I get back." She assured him, "But I have to go now."

"Okay." He said as he made his way to where they'd been hiding presents. She grabbed her purse and walked out the door.

* * *

Annie rushed around the next morning trying to get breakfast ready for all her guests. It had been a long time since her house had been so full. Part of it made her happy, and another part of it made her sad. She missed Eric and the holidays didn't make it any easier. Even though she knew she'd see him again eventually, there was still that emptiness in her heart.

"When is Lucy getting here?" Ruthie rolled her eyes, "She practically lives in the back yard, she should have been here first."

"I'm sure she'll be over in a few minutes." Annie said, "Patience."

Patience was not one of Ruthie's strong points. In fact, there were a lot of things that weren't her strong points. "I don't see why we have to do this anyway."

"What's the matter with coming home from school for the holidays?" Annie asked, slightly annoyed, "Is it that terrible to have to spend time with your family?"

"That's not what I'm saying." She sighed.

"No," Annie frowned, "but it's what you're implying. I suggest you go upstairs and go back to sleep, then when you wake up, try getting out on the right side of the bed."

Ruthie huffed off. Annie shook her head wondering when she'd outgrow her rebellious streak. She had already passed her teen years and was now looking twenty-one in the face, however, most of the time; she still acted like she was sixteen.

A few minutes later, Annie heard the door handle jiggle. She knew Lucy was here and not a moment too soon. Once the door opened, her two grandchildren ran over and hugged her as if it had been years since they'd seen her.

"Hi mom." Lucy smiled.

"What are you up to?" Annie asked.

"Nothing." Lucy stated, "How come everyone thinks I'm up to something?"

"Because usually, you are." Kevin chipped in. Lucy rolled her eyes and took the kids to see Sam and David.

"She's up to something." Annie said to Kevin. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes she is." He confirmed, "But I think you'll like it."

"So you're in on it?" Annie asked.

"That's all I can tell you." He shrugged, "Sorry."

After breakfast was done and the children had gone through their presents, Annie looked at Lucy, "You have to tell me what you're up to."

Everyone looked over to Lucy who just smiled. It was so nice to see everyone together again. Seeing the kids running around and having fun reminded her of when they were all little.

"Lucy?" Kevin nudged her, bringing her back to the present time.

"Oh." She shook her head, "I have one more present. I'll be right back and meet me out front in a few minutes." She stood and left for her house.

"What is she doing?" Mary asked. Annie just shrugged and started towards the door. Everyone else followed, children in tow.

They waited for a few minutes until Lucy finally pulled up with a car full of goodies. Several other members of the church pulled up behind her, cars full of goodies. Lucy stepped out of the car and went up to her mom.

"I think that with all the sadness we've gone through this year, we've forgotten a few things," Lucy started, "dad may not be with us here on Earth, but he's still with us and we all forgot his Christmas present. I was thinking about it last night and realized that he'd still want us to keep up our Christmas tradition of charity. It would make him happy and I'm sure it would make us all feel better."

"But how did you get all this stuff?" Annie asked, "What are we doing?"

"Well, I got this crazy idea last night that we should go Santa Claus the children's hospital. I know a lot of the kids there are really sick and their families spend so much on their treatments that they can't really afford a Christmas."

"Lucy…"

"We got five extra years with dad." She smiled, "I think that maybe we can bring these kids and their families hope and strength to get through all this so they can have extra time together too."

"But how?"

"I knew I couldn't do it alone." Her eyes filled up with tears, "So I called everyone at the church and got a lot of people to help. The hospital is expecting us, so come on. You can ride with me mom."

Once everyone was in a car and ready to go, they headed off to the hospital. Through tears, Annie placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder, "Bless you Lucy. You are truly your father's daughter."

Merry Christmas


End file.
